- Moist (Canadian band)
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This article is about the Canadian band. For the term meaning the presence of water, see moisture. For other uses (including other bands of the same name), see Moist (disambiguation).
Moist Origin Vancouver, BC, Canada Genres Alternative rock, hard rock Years active 1992–2000 Labels EMI Website moist.ca Members David Usher
Mark Makoway
Jeff Pearce
Kevin Young
Paul WilcoxMoist was a five-piece Canadian alternative rock band that was popular in the mid-to-late-1990s. The band was led by lead singer David Usher, along with Mark Makoway (guitars), Jeff Pearce (bass), Kevin Young (keyboards) and Paul Wilcox (drums).
Contents
Biography
Moist formed in Vancouver, BC in the fall of 1992. Mark Makoway and Jeff Pearce had met while at Queen's University in Kingston, then moved to Vancouver and were already playing in an earlier incarnation of the group. Kevin Young and David Usher had also moved from Kingston to Vancouver a few years earlier, to go to school. The first version of Moist was just breaking up when the four decided to do some writing together. Encouraged by this, they decided to form the new band and started playing shows. A mutual friend introduced the band to drummer Paul Wilcox. They quickly wrote and recorded songs for an independently released, self-titled cassette. They spent much of 1993 touring Canada and writing material for an expanded release. In January 1994 they completed their first full length CD, which was titled Silver. Strong independent sales led to the band signing with EMI Music Canada. The album went on to sell 400,000 copies in Canada on the strength of singles like "Push", "Silver" and "Believe Me".
In late 1996, Moist released their second album, Creature, to favourable reviews. The album included the hits "Leave It Alone", "Resurrection", "Tangerine", and "Gasoline", all which were placed on high rotation on MuchMusic. In addition to these, remixed versions of "Tangerine" also became hits both on radio and Muchmusic.
Following the band's second record, David Usher released his first solo album, Little Songs.
In early 1999, the band regrouped to record one more album, the melancholic and soft-toned Mercedes 5 and Dime. The album was released in the summer of 1999 in Canada and later in 2000 in the United States. Singles included "Breathe", "Underground", and "Comes and Goes". While touring in support of their final album, drummer Paul Wilcox injured his back, causing him to miss the band's final performances.
David Usher has continued to record, releasing Morning Orbit in 2001, Hallucinations in 2003, If God Had Curves in 2005, Strange Birds in 2007, and Wake Up And Say Goodbye in 2008. Jeff Pearce formed the band RYE, which released its first record, Wolves, in 2004, and Mark Makoway published a guide to the music industry, called The Indie Band Bible.
Discography
Albums
Year Title Chart positions Certifications CAN
[1]CAN
[2]1993 Moist - 1994 Silver 14 4x Platinum 1996 Creature 9 3x Platinum 1999 Mercedes 5 and Dime 4 Platinum 2001 Machine Punch Through: The Singles Collection - Singles
Year Song Peak chart positions Album US Main
[3]CAN
[4]CAN Alt.
[5]CAN CanCon
[6]CAN AC
[7]1994 "Push" 37 32 — — — Silver "Silver" — 31 — — — 1995 "Believe Me" — 11 — 8 — "Machine Punch Through" — 72 — 5 — "Freaky Be Beautiful" — — — — — 1996 "Leave it Alone" — 3 6 — — Creature "Resurrection" — 8 5 — — 1997 "Tangerine" — 25 — — — "Gasoline" — 27 — — — 1999 "Breathe" — 30 5 — 22 Mercedes 5 and Dime "Underground" — 42 7 — — "Comes and Goes" — — 10 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. - Note: The Rock/Alternative chart was dormant from 1973 to 1995, hence no ranking for Silver's singles.
Awards and recognition
- Won Juno for Best New Group at the 1995 Juno Awards.
- Won Juno for best video (Gasoline) at the 1997 Juno Awards.
- Won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best album (Silver) in 1995.
- Won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best group in 1995.
- David Usher won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best singer in 1995.
- Kevin Young won "Q107 Canada's Rock Award" for best keyboard player in 1995.
- Won an MMVA (MuchMusic Video Award) for Favorite Canadian Group in 1995.
- The video for the song Tangerine won Best Video, and Best Director at the (MuchMusic Video Awards) in 1997.
References
- ^ "Moist Top Albums/CDs positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=Moist&q2=Top+Albums%2FCDs&interval=50. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Gold Platinum Database: Moist". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=&ica=False&sa=Moist&sl=&smt=0&sat=-1&ssb=Artist. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Moist > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p45194/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Moist Top Singles positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=Moist&q2=Top+Singles&interval=20. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Moist Rock/Alternative positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=Moist&q2=Rock%2FAlternative&interval=20. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Moist Canadian Content positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5&q1=Moist&q2=Canadian+Content+%28Cancon%29&interval=20. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "RPM - Library and Archives Canada | RPM - Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
External links
- Moist entry at JAM! Canadian Pop Encyclopedia
Categories:- Canadian post-grunge groups
- Juno Award winners
- Musical groups from Vancouver
- Musical groups established in 1992
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